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So, there was no turkey, pumpkin pie, or Black Friday (albeit we did have thai chicken and pitas with humus at our Thanksgiving potluck feast hosted at Sobha Ruby Platinum itself!) … yet many many thanks to give this Thanksgiving in India…

1. Thank you to the Mysore Plateau for the “best climate in India” and the typical sunny 75 degree morning for my solo turkey trot on Thursday.

2. Thank you to conventional sidewalks, common pavement, and parking lots. Exhibit A: The brain teaser that is going to the bank at times in Bangalore (yes, that is a Citi Bank ATM on the right. So far, the closest one to the apartment!).

Option 1 – long jump the trench and risk near fatality. Or Option 2 – continue walking in search of a trench-less route, albeit up and over boulder piles, risking near fatality with each passing scooter as they’ll team up with the autos and sandwich you. Be on your game!

3. Thanks to Vanajakshi Miss for helping get students ready for the Rotary Club Eco-Skools drama competition Bangalore and for accompanying myself and 12 students downtown for the competition on Friday.

4. And a special thanks to Nikil, 6th standard student and star dancer, who while we were on the bus this morning inquired about the new library and responded with an affirmative nod, “We are ready to read“.

5. Thank you chocolate donuts… LOCATED, alas.

6. AND to basil (yes basil), bean sprouts and broccoli; also big big wins today at Johnson Market.  Thank you Jowdcer (who may or may not realize that he may soon be the busiest vendor in Bangalore if he keeps stocking these novel gems).

7. A big thanks to Cousins Morris, Maurice and Giselle for an incredible evening of new family and food at family-owned village tavern, Cantare. And to Morris for the Saligao ancestral tour of Goan childhood stomping grounds, ancestral property, and for helping preserve and unravel a few more stories of Great-Grandaddy Victorino Saldanha, wealth, Portuguese Goa as it once existed.

8. Thank you to my new bus friend.  First motioning from across with fingers to ask me if I had eaten (of course finishing with the head bob).  He then asked if I had had my breakfast, and then asked about my lunch.  Using hand gestures and broken English he then said that it was 4 times now that he had seen me on the bus (heck of a big deal considering how MANY DARN PEOPLE LIVE ON THIS sub-continent and that we were a solid 25km from my apartment).  He then finished with an earnest “Thank – you, Ma’am!”, a head bob and a smile. This all occurred as we were waiting idle as the police finished up their reports, as just moments before our bus had hit the one in front of us, shattering its back windshield (actually SHOCKED that this was my first Indian accident). Always always an adventure…

9. A big thank you to the THINK Conference 2012, for being in GOA.  But more specifically, to cows on the beach in Goa.

AND

10. A goat barnyard on the sidewalk (yes a SIDEWALK!!!) in downtown Mumbai.

11. Buses decked out for Diwali.

AND

12. Goats decorated for Ganesh Chaturthi.

Will always make me smile and never ever get old. None of it.

13. A big thank you to Father Clement and his team for having me at MUHIL Gardens and Health Center back in October.  To Uncle Demi for playing “connector”, Amali and Vasanti for the trip to Madurai, Dr. Annal Fatima for her story, and Father Clement for courage, kindness, and hospitality of a caliber unseen today.

14. Thank you to heaping bowls of fresh fruit salad on the street (Rs. 20), the world’s best strawberry lassis (yogurt milkshake) at that juice stand on my way home from school (Rs. 15), and Mumbai Bhel Puri.

15. A big thank you to Bhagya, accountant, personal assistant and shinning star at Srinidhi School, for her bilingualism and poise 2 weeks back.  Fore what was intended as a one-on-one survey with a couple parents as they were leaving school, quickly morphed into a room of 30 Kannada speaking mom’s with antsy kindergarteners ready for dictation.  TGFB (Thank Goodness For Bhagya!) and routine systemic chaos!  However, “xerox’ed” copies and a little methods background research on me and Danielle’s part for next time wouldn’t hurt!

16. Thank you to neighborhood temples and loud street speakers for the blasting Asian music at obscenely odd hours.  The 1am rendition is particularly lovely.  The 7-8am morning sessions when my Ipod shuffle isn’t charged are actually quite lovely :).

17. Thank you to Biblo and Marlyn Velho for unprecedented hospitality in Panjim and for the gastronomical tour of Portugese Goa (BEST food I have had in India, hands down :)).

18. A special thank you to the inventor of fully automatic washing machines (as opposed to semi-automatic) AND hot water from the tap. Mmmm. Wouldn’t that be nice.

19. To the avant garde Erica Jong for her provocative showing at THINK2012, those heels she wore, and for introducing the “zipless fuck” with one of the world’s most gender-biased and culturally conservative countries. RIGHT on.

20. A thank you to Anuradha and Samhita Ramesh (my school owner and her daughter-in-law) for their expert sari shopping advice.  It was between either Kanjeevaram or Mysore Silk.  The hardest part (in addition to picking just one of hundreds of gorgeous Indian patterned fabrics) is putting it on, as it is literally just a piece of fabric with a few safety pins.  Thank you thank you thank you to Devika (“yoga miss” at my school) for my impromptu visit to her house for panicked sari help the morning of teacher’s day, where I had been prefaced over and over that I must come in a sari.

21. Thank you to the State Government of Karnataka for the proposed ban on plastic bags (which are ubiquitous, all sizes, used for everything).  At least we are starting to think about it. Now about that “garbage problem”…

22. And without a doubt, what I am most grateful for this Thanksgiving are family and friends for helping me navigate the journey that is India.  From our field coordinator, Amy and the IDEX Bangalore cohort, to sturdy anchors back home, words cannot express my gratitude for your support, perspective and love.  Fore without you there would be no journey :).  Gobble Gobble and Happy late Diwali!

Up next: Hyderabad for IDEX Ideas Market!